Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley (1994)^{Release ID: 164}

Time for a hot take, given how beloved this album is…

Kyuss has never done much for me, and while this is my favorite of their material I’ve heard so far, it’s still stuck in “decent” territory. I actually liked this album more the first time I heard it; the riff of the first track was pretty catchy, and the way Asteroid jams is quite entertaining indeed. I was prepared to like this album a lot.

However, the more I listened to it, the more it grew off me. The riffs, for the most part, are quite repetitive, sometimes becoming dull, and after multiple listens the magic they had has gone stale. A fair amount of the tracks have jam sections in them, and the band doesn’t go anywhere most of the time. The solos sound like they’re trying to be psychedelic, and don’t create much in terms of melody or technique. People praise the vocals, but they’re just very generic Stoner Rock/Grunge vocals, and on top of that the lyrics are quite poor.

The album is not without strengths, and I will recognize them. Asteroid is a very good song, for one. The riffs are quite monolithic, there’s a good amount of energy and variation to it. The album is overall very consistent, and easy to listen to front to back. Another thing people say is that the album does a good job of actually taking you to Sky Valley, and I totally agree. This album just oozes desert heat, dehydrated mirages and psychedelic pink skies. I did also have the pleasure of listening to this on a hot sunny day in the car with the windows down. That’s how it’s meant to be, I think.

My own biases aside, the album is a good ride start to finish, but does little to stand out amongst its genre. Lick Doo is particularly embarrassing and just a final slap in the face as the album closes. While this album has a time and a place, it’s not strong enough that I’d want to spin it again anytime soon.

Okay, I want to contest the description of  “non-metal” for this album. I guess I can see how someone might consider this Alternative or Grunge, but I think “Welcome to Sky Valley” qualifies as metal for the same reason W.A.S.P. and Accept would but Motley Crue and AC/DC wouldn’t (going by the criteria of the Metal Academy podcast, at least), in that it’s just TOUGHER than stylistically similar bands. Vocalist John Garcia may be a bit more on the hard rock side of things, and it took a few listens for his voice to sink in, but now I really dig it. His style isn’t that far off from Danzig, except higher pitched and from the desert instead of Jersey. Like I said, the guitar tones are grungier than your typical metal fare, but the overall effect is like a torrential mud storm. The dull, almost grey tones create an coarse foundation  for the vocals and bass. A lot of the parts are nice and simple, especially “Odyssey” which has an awesomely heavy three chord main riff. The instrumentation of “Asteroid” and “Whitewater” are more subtle and nuanced, the latter reminding me of the Wipers. Again, not exactly a metal reference, but that just adds to the dynamics. Same with the jammier  moments: they are totally fair game in Stoner Metal. And how could you call “Conan Troutman” anything but Metal? I could do without the back and forth vox on “Demon Cleaner,” the stupid extra “joke” track, and a few extra smears, but I definitely regret not getting into this sooner.

Drift Through Searing Sand

Blanketed in distortion and drenched in atmosphere, Welcome to Sky Valley encapsulates everything I dig about the Stoner side of Metal. The laid back but heavy grooves hidden behind a mountain of distortion, the slower but absorbing song structure, and a hint of strangeness and psychedelia thrown in there just for the hell of it. All the pieces just fall into place for this album, with every member having their time to shine whether it's the filthy guitar riffs of "Gardenia", the funky bass lines of "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop", the range of vocal performance between "100°" and "Space Cadet", or the impressive drum rhythms on "Whitewater". Kyuss are able to cover so much musical ground all while never losing the groove of the riffs, which is the lifeblood of a Stoner Rock/Metal release like this.

It strikes a perfect balance between atmospheric, trippy sections like "Asteroid" and head-bobbing but laid back tracks like "Demon Cleaner", which is the strongest track for me. Both of these styles work so well with Kyuss's sound because while the guitar tone is slightly muddy due to all the distortion, the rest of the band is crystal clear and properly cuts through the mix. All the riffs and bass lines have a ton of attitude to them and feel like they're really dug into, which helps to sell the atmosphere of the album very well. John Garcia's vocals also hit both styles, being able to give an aggressive but still laid back performance on the more upbeat tracks and a very emotional and softer performance on the more psychedelic stoner tracks. His voice has a ragged twang to it, which makes it sound more cohesive with the rest of the band.

The songwriting and transitions are all but flawless, with changes happening rapidly but never feeling out of place and never losing the groove of the song. The riffs and solos are very complex and interesting while still managing to be laid-back and carefree sounding, with a ton of very unique sections like the breaks taken at the end of "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop". Welcome To Sky Valley honestly has one of my favorite bass performances, with each line laid down with precision and attitude. The bass is the only thing keeping the groove during the guitar solos and more atmospheric sections, so the fact that it leaves such an impression ties the album together and, at the end of the day, it's just nasty in songs like "Gardenia" and "Demon Cleaner".

The one thing that really sets this album apart is the atmosphere, with its chill Californian desert imagery through "Space Cadet" and "Whitewater". Thanks to the tone of the clean guitars and the slight twang of the vocals almost all the tracks carry much of the same atmosphere, but it's brought to the forefront in "Space Cadet" as acoustic and clean, twangy guitars take over. This is definitely one of those albums that just draws me into its own world every single time I listen to it. Whether that world is a drug-filled haze, cruising down a dusty, hardly paved road with a flat horizon off in the distance, or a lonely walk across a radiating and blistering hot landscape, this album will definitely take you there.

Kyuss’ second album “Blues For The Red Sun” had brought the band to my attention in a big way. The weaknesses that had plagued their debut album “Wretch” were all but gone & what we were left with was a far more focused & professional sounding record. The levels of production, musicianship & song-writing had all been noticeably improved upon & the incorporation of some additional psychedelic influences had added another layer of complexity for the listener. I was lucky enough to witness Kyuss putting in a superb performance whilst supporting Metallica in 1993; a set that included sneak previews of a couple of tracks that would eventually end up on “Welcome To Sky Valley” (namely “Odyssey” & “Gardenia”). It would be a wait of more than a year before the album would finally become available to the public but I was very keen to see what it had in store for me.  

Whereas “Blues For The Red Sun” had sounded noticeably different to Kyuss’ previous couple of releases, “Welcome To Sky Valley” followed a fairly similar musical path to its older brother. All of the elements that captured me previously were there but somehow they seemed even more engaging this time. I’m not sure if there is more psychedelic material on this occasion but I think the trippier moments are perhaps more confident & expansive. Josh Homme’s guitar playing has again improved remarkably & he attempts some substantially more challenging ideas on this record. It may be the first time that he has sounded completely in control of his instrument to my ears. John Garcia’s vocals are as gripping & vital as ever. He is certainly helped by some really high quality song-writing though as there are plenty of hooks & highlights to draw the listener in.  

Strangely the album is arranged into three suites with each featuring three or four seemingly unrelated songs. I really have no idea as to why they structured things this way & I have to admit that I find it a bit annoying. I’d much prefer to be able to skip from song to song whenever I wished rather than having to fast forward or sit through multiple tracks first. Obviously this isn’t a major concern but it’s worth noting nonetheless.  

The first two suites are nothing short of stunning. This is stoner rock of the very highest quality. Unlike Kyuss’ previous releases I don’t find myself missing John Garcia’s vocals during the long instrumental sections. The band has finally found the ability to fully engage me on their own & it makes for a more enjoyable listening experience. The third suite starts off just as brilliantly as the first two but things start to flatten out a little in the middle before building up to another epic monster of a track at the end. “Demon Cleaner” is my favourite track on the album. It simply hits me the hardest. Having said that though I genuinely love tracks like “Gardenia”, “Asteroid”, “Space Cadet”, “Odyssey” & “Whitewater”. “N.O.” is really the only failure in my opinion. It’s not horrible but it is significantly less exciting than the rest of the album (or anything on “Blues For The Red Sun” for that matter).  Unfortunately Kyuss have again included a completely pointless joke track at the end of the album. “Lick Doo” serves no purpose whatsoever other than to take some of the gloss off an otherwise very good album. It’s only a minute in length but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave me with a slightly bad taste in my mouth at the completion of the record.  

“Welcome To Sky Valley” is for the most part a brilliant piece of work. It’s not as big a step up from the previous album as “Blues For The Red Sun” was from “Wretch” or “Wretch” was from “Sons Of Kyuss” but it definitely takes everything I liked about “Blues For The Red Sun” & pushes it even further. Its highlights are more impressive & there are more of them so I’d really like to score this release a little higher than I have. Unfortunately the couple of weaker songs have forced me to drop it back to a very respectable 4/5 but most of this album is as good an example of the stoner rock genre as I’ve heard.